Japan Alleges Hedge Fund Fiddled With Stock Price Dec 4 2014 | 12:06pm ET Japan’s securities regulator is poised to punish a Hong Kong hedge fund for alleged market manipulation. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission will recommend that Areion Asset Management be fined for allegedly “banging the close” on chemical maker Nitto Denko Corp. last September. According to the watchdog, Aerion placed a large buy order just before the close of trading, boosting its stock price and earning it as much as US$83 million, NHK Television reports. Areion said that it “emphatically believes that it has not committed any market manipulation and acted in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.” The firm added that its trades were made in part due to “the rebalancing of the Nikkei index.” The SESC said it is working with Hong Kong regulators on the case. Areion was founded four years ago by former proprietary traders Einoshin Arima and Giselle Leung.